Hotel Openings

🏨 Ciaran O’Neill is appointed managing director of The Bedford Hotel Belfast, set to open in May after an 18-month redevelopment. Located in the 1904 Scottish Mutual Building, the hotel features 82 bedrooms, a restaurant, and a café bar. O’Neill, also managing director of Bishop’s Gate Hotel in Derry, will oversee both properties for RFM Hotels. Mike Gatt and JP McCafferty will manage daily operations. The project is part of a revitalization behind Belfast City Hall.

🏠 Galgorm Castle Education and Preservation Ltd has submitted a £14 million planning application for a regeneration project at Galgorm Castle. The plan includes transforming the 17th-century Jacobean castle into a boutique hotel. It will create 125 construction jobs and 90 permanent positions, totaling 215 new jobs. Additionally, the project will feature a 60-seat heritage hub and a 120-seat music arts centre, enhancing connectivity with the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site at Gracehill.

🏨 Whitbread PLC has applied to the North Norfolk District Council to build an 81-bedroom Premier Inn in North Walsham, at a former Fruehof factory site. The £10m project includes 80 parking spaces and sustainable energy features. If approved, it will create 20 permanent jobs. North Walsham currently lacks branded hotels, with the nearest Premier Inns in Norwich and Great Yarmouth. Whitbread aims to expand its Premier Inn rooms from 85,500 to 125,000 across the UK and Ireland.

📈 Marriott's EMEA region saw "exceptional growth" in 2025, adding 170 properties and nearly 24,000 rooms, a 7.8% net room growth. The company secured over 230 signings, representing 31,000 rooms. Key growth markets included Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the UK. Nearly 50% of signings were conversions or adaptive reuse projects. Marriott's luxury segment hit a record with 40 deals, including sites in Bodrum, Jeddah, and Cape Town. The acquisition of citizenM added 19 hotels and 4,000 rooms.

🏨 In Berlin's Charlottenburg district, Rachael Gowdridge transformed a 19th-century building into The Dean hotel, featuring 81 guest rooms. The design integrates historic elements with bespoke and vintage details, offering a contrast of raw materiality and contemporary interventions. This German debut for The Dean brand includes vibrant public spaces like a bakery and restaurant, and an intimate library with locally-sourced design titles. Artworks by local artists, selected by Thom Oosterhof, enhance the eclectic interior.